Castles in the Sky
by My Alibi
Summary: Lei-Fang and Hayate were living the dream together, away from everything that troubled them, but strange things are starting to happen now, and it's causing havoc in paradise.


Castles in the Sky  
  
Author Notes: Alright, alright. I've decided that there are NO other authors on this entire site who write L/H slash, and decided that's going to be my focus for awhile. We need to up the anti 'round here. So review, or I get discouraged. Please?  
  
AN2... again: By the way, this is a 'Hayabusa House' story, that means that Hayate, Kasumi, Ryu, and Fangi all live in a large, ancient Japanese mansion left to Ryu by his uncle. This also means that Ryu and Fangi are the only two who seem to be able to cook, Kasumi has huge gardens that occupy most of her time, and Hayate spends much of his time out in nature.   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Lei-Fang, but I wish I owned her black dress from DOA3... *drools* I do not own Hayate... but hell, I wish I did. *drools more* So, that translates to, I do not own DOA at all.. Someone else does, however shocking that may be to you.   
Chapter One: Shadows of the Dawn  
  
~~*~~  
  
The sun was far from peeking over the treetops when Lei-Fang, coffee mug in hand, stepped onto the back deck of her home, the house she and her three roommates had so lovingly dubbed 'The Hayabusa House'. The deck was huge, extending the whole length of the eastern wing and branching off as an elevated path down towards the falls.  
  
The Chinese teen's uncinched robe blew around her lithe, powerful form. Thankfully, the summer predawn air was warm enough as not to chill her. The only garments she wore under the robe were a pair of pale blue cotton pants and a tight, thin white tank top.   
  
Her hair was unbound, falling in waves down her back for the wind to play with.   
  
She smiled as the breeze intensified, taking the guess that Hayate knew where she was. She didn't care, she hadn't been hiding. But, she decided, he could catch up if he so wanted, and she headed down the path towards the falls.  
  
Taking a sip of her coffee she fought a yawn. Trekking down to the falls was a push this early in the morning, but to see the dawn from the very top was a great wonder. She smiled at the memory that came with that sight, the first time Hayate had shown her had also been their first kiss.  
  
She hadn't lived here at the time, she remembered. It seemed like so long ago.   
  
This place, this expansive, wonderful estate was a haven for the four. All three; Ryu, Kasumi, and Hayate, were now considered either runaways or in exile. No one knew they were here, though. And that made it safe.   
  
Lei-Fang made herself smile as she thought of her own situation. Bad relationship after bad relationship. Then her father's will to force her into marriage. It made her temper simmer even after the fact. She'd runaway from home. Though she'd seen her family since then, she'd only left her father a letter. It left her post box number, a place her could get in touch with her, but made it clear that he was not going to see her again until he apologized and called off the arranged wedding.   
  
No response had reach her in the six months since.   
  
She sighed and slid carefully off of the wooden path, onto the stones at the top of the falls. She stepped out, feet sloshing in puddles, as she made the way to a dry rock to sit on. A bit of her coffee sloshed onto her hand and she bit her lip to keep a vulgarity off her tongue.   
  
Finally taking a seat, she turned her attention towards the darkened eastern sky. And waited.   
  
The shadows that the coming light cast were long, and very dark, compared to the ever lightening area. Lei-Fang took a sip of the coffee and tossed her head to get some stray bits of her hair out of her eyes.   
  
Drawing her feet up onto the rock she had so carefully perched herself upon, she rested her left arm and chin on her knees. Her deep brown eyes were so carefully searching the horizon, expectancy written on her porcelain face.   
  
Soundless as he ever was, Hayate was suddenly at her side. Lei-Fang didn't hear him approach, not that he intended to scare her, but she knew he would have been offended had she known he was there. She smiled up at him as the wind greeted it's friend and master, blowing his red tinted hair around his shoulders and out of his hazel eyes. He wore a stern look, and she knew his mind was far away, wrestling with the past he'd left behind but still carried with him.   
  
"Hayate?" she finally spoke. "Are you alright?" A moment passed before he reacted, looking down at her. A faint smile, the most outer reaction he ever showed when he was being thoughtful, crossed his face and he slipped his arm around her shoulders.   
  
"I'm fine. Just been thinking... and listening to the wind." he told her, resting his head on hers and following her eyes to the horizon. The sun's preceding light was growing stronger, foretelling it's arrival.   
  
Lei-Fang said nothing, and let him hold her there in silence. It comforted the both of them.   
  
The sunset was the birth of something new, dispelling all of the shadows that had cloaked the landscape. Shadows hid, but were killed in time as the sun steadily rose that morning.   
  
It was hours before either Hayate or Lei-Fang wanted to move. Kasumi, Hayate's sister and friend to Lei-Fang since the first Dead or Alive tournament, found them. She smiled knowingly, winking at her brother before Hayate, faintly blushing though he hoped no one noticed, demanded to know what she wanted.   
  
"Ryu has breakfast ready. He told me to "come fetch the love birds", I believe were his exact words."she teased. Hayate glowered, and Lei-Fang laughed at the sibling feud, ever present in their day to day routine, even considering their once difficult past.   
  
From Hayate's stories, Kasumi and he had always been close. He'd fervently protected her, especially because of their six year age difference, and been there at every step of her training as a shinobi. Pride at her being chosen as the second in line to the Mugen Tenshin clan ruling chair, even when he was the heir of their master, Kaiba, was always so obvious to Lei-Fang when she could urge a story from Hayate of those times.   
  
Then things darkened. Hayate was in a horrible accident, crippling him and making him lose all he'd fought for in his life. Kasumi, angered at her brother's "accident", ran away from the clan, marking herself as a runaway but not having a care for herself, only for avenging her big brother's name by finding those responsible for his injuries.   
  
Hayate immediately sent Ryu, his best friend, to protect his sister while Hayate could not. Ryu made a promise to always protect the young runaway, one he'd always been true to.   
  
But with Ryu gone, Hayate was left as a target. He disappeared from his clan, and no one could find a trace that he'd ever existed.   
  
It was over a year, almost two, and many fruitless searches by Kasumi later that a young man with a striking resemblance to Hayate appeared in the second Dead or Alive tournament. His name was Ein, the failed DOATEC Project Epsilon, and he had no memory of his past. Soon, though, with his victory in the tournament over Tengu, his memories came flooding back to him. He was Hayate, and he'd been away from home too long.   
  
DOATEC had healed him, though, and now he was able to take the title of seventeenth Master of Mugen Tenshin with pride. And guilt. His sister had no life to come home to because of him.   
  
But the harshest shock came next, when the elders of the clan told him what his first mission back would be, to prove his loyalty to them.   
  
He must kill his sister, the runaway.   
  
Lei-Fang cringed at that thought, thinking of her own older brother, and her younger sister for that matter. The three had always been closer than most siblings, and she couldn't imagine any of them wanting to kill the other.   
  
"Lei-Fang? Are you in there?" Kasumi teased. Lei-Fang started and glanced at the young, red-haired girl. Dressed in what Lei-Fang considered normal, it was hard to imagine Kasumi with her innocent eyes as a shinobi, a trained killer and warrior.   
  
She looked so little. "Hello? Is anyone home up there?"   
  
"Yes, thank you." Lei-Fang retorted, sliding off the boulder that had been her perch for the longest while. Her legs were cramped and her back hurt, but it had been a good morning, she told herself.   
  
Hayate caught her hand, a rare thing for him considering Kasumi was near them, and together the three trekked back towards the house. Halfway there, the smells of a bountiful meal reach her and she realized just how hungry she was. Her stomach growled, her hand rubbing it expectantly as Hayate chuckled softly.   
  
"You haven't fed your girlfriend today. You're a bad man, Hayate." Lei-Fang joked in a pouting voice. He smiled with only half his mouth and turned to face her. She looked innocent and admired the cuff of her robe.   
  
With a laugh, Hayate swept her off her feet. She hadn't expected this and let out a start of surprise. "Hayate!" she exclaimed as he took off at full speed towards the house, Kasumi just on his heels.   
  
A moment later they were in the house, Lei-Fang on her own two feet, but leaning heavily into Hayate for support. "I'm going to kill you." she managed. She was always a bit dizzy from a jaunt like that. She hadn't gotten used to how fast her three roommates could be when they needed to.   
  
Ryu entered the dining room, a large tray of breakfast goodies in one hand and a pitcher of juice, fresh squeezed no doubt, in the other. One look at Lei-Fang, and he laughed. "You're evil, my friend. You know that you make her ill when you run with her, or teleport for that matter." Ryu admonished, setting the meal on the table and motioning for the three to join him. Hayate eased the non-shinobi member of the four into a chair before he took the seat nearest her.   
  
Head on the table, Lei-Fang took a few deep breaths and finally looked up at Ryu. "Does he do that just to annoy me?"   
  
Ryu laughed wholeheartedly and passed the Chinese girl the plate of sausages. "Probably, knowing him. And I do know him, for far too long." Ryu spoke, glancing at Hayate, who glared but not in a hearted manner.   
  
Lei-Fang sat up and took a few of the sausages, having a person love for Ryu's cooking, and passed the plate to Kasumi, bypassing Hayate with a grin in his direction. He poked her in the side with one of his chop sticks. She picked up her own and held them, one in each hand, like fighting daggers. He laughed, taking a swipe at her, his motion too fast to follow with the normal eye.   
  
Imagine his surprise when she caught the stick between her two, eyes still locked with his. He blinked in surprise. She smiled, turning to take the bowl of rice from Ryu. Kasumi giggled from the exchange, and Ryu seemed to be fighting the urge to do the same.   
  
Hayate only smiled when her hair slapped him in the face. Her hair smelled like orchids and he breathed in the sweet scent with elation. He wrapped his arms around her thin waist and pulled her to him. She smiled and glanced back at him, large serving bowl of rice in her hands. She laughed and handed it to him.   
  
"If you wanted the rice that bad, then here." she joked, sliding back to her own seat. Hayate, now with the rice, glared and took a spoonful, handing it to his sister.   
  
"Will you two be have already?" Kasumi asked. "You're worse than little kids." she admonished, bits of rice falling off of her chop sticks as she waved them at her. A piece landed on her tank top and she laughed, picking it off and flicking it in the direction of her brother. He glared, flicked a grape at her.   
  
Ryu coughed to get their attention and the siblings settled down, actually eating their meals now.   
  
"You'd be surprised to guess that their twenty-three and seventeen, not two and three, huh?" Ryu asked Lei-Fang, who laughed with a nod.   
  
Both of the others glared, with wounded prides. Kasumi had a gentle smack for Ryu's shoulder, and he turned towards her. "I'm just kidding, Sumi-chan." he spoke, kissing her forehead. She blushed slightly, and Hayate shifted in his chair.   
  
"Funny, I wasn't kidding, Hayate." Lei-Fang spoke pointedly at the man she loved. He snaked a hand around her waist and kissed her. 


End file.
